Money, the Currency of the World - Faith, the Currency of God’s Kingdom

 “A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh merry: but money answereth all things.”

‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭10‬:‭19‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Solomon’s wisdom says, “A party gives laughter, wine gives happiness, and money gives everything!”  Money is the currency of this world we live in.  The Lord Jesus Christ clearly taught, “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”  Even the apostles taught, “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”  “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for He has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."  For us who belong to the Kingdom of God, we are clear that we serve the Living God and the currency of God’s Kingdom is faith.  For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world - our faith.  Today, people are lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, enjoying the feasting, wine and mirth in this life.  Unfortunately, none of this will stand them after this life.  Only the eternal life God has offered through Christ will endure forever.  Money is to be used wisely in this world to seek His Kingdom and His righteousness, so that in Christ all things are added to us.  Let’s bless others and use money to give the Good News of Christ for it is the power of God to salvation.  Amen!

Seeing the Apostle of our Faith - the Lord Jesus in All we Do

 “and said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.”

‭‭John‬ ‭9‬:‭7‬ ‭KJV‬‬

John the beloved disciple records, “And He said to the blind man, “Now go and wash the clay from your eyes in the ritual pool of Siloam.” So he went and washed his face and as he came back, he could see for the first time in his life!”  Siloam means “to be sent” or “to be commissioned” - and is the same meaning of “apostle”.  The Apostle of our faith is the Lord Jesus Christ Who was sent from the Father.  To wash in the Pool of Apostleship is to recognise the healing that flows from the One Who was sent from heaven.  Jesus had just taught that He is the Light of the world and had came to dispel the darkness of mankind, so this miracle of giving sight to the blind man is a powerful proof of Jesus’s words.  Christ, in His birth, became a man of clay.  When He applies this clay  over our eyes and we wash in the water of His Word, our spiritual sight is restored.  Then we are sent to testify of God’s goodness in our lives.  We who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ are all apostles commissioned by Him.  Therefore, as partakers of the heavenly calling, let’s keep continuously considering the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus.  Amen!

Marriage is Honourable

 “Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labour which thou takest under the sun.”

‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭9‬:‭9‬ ‭KJV‬

Solomon says, “Live happily with the woman you love through all the meaningless days of life that God has given you under the sun. The wife God gives you is your reward for all your earthly toil.”  Solomon spouted God’s truth but never practiced it.  However, it is the truth of God.  Marriage didn’t come by evolution, or by man’s doing, it came to be because God instituted it.  The marriage covenant was established as a foundational, "one-flesh" union, for a permanent joining of a man and a woman.  For the reason of marriage, a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.  The Lord Jesus Christ affirmed this truth when questioned about marriage.  In the liberal culture that is happening where sexual immorality, gender transition etc are increasing, we are to honour the sanctity of marriage as God has instituted, and keep our vows of purity to one another, for God will judge sexual immorality in any form, whether single or married.  Let’s be happy in our marriage and those who are not married, be happy in being single and being devoted to God even more. Marriage is honourable and godliness with contentment is great wealth.  Amen!

Be Conscious of God’s Presence

 “And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground.”

‭‭John‬ ‭8‬:‭8‬ ‭KJV‬‬

John the beloved disciple recorded, “And then He bent over again and wrote some more words in the dust.”  The prophet had prophesied hundreds of years ago, “Yahweh..all who forsake You will be covered with shame. Those who turn away from You will be written in the dirt. To forsake You, Yahweh, is to forsake the Fountain of Living Waters.”  Jesus wrote in the dust to fulfil this prophecy that those who forsake God are in spiritual adultery and will be written in the dust.  All of Jesus’s accusers were and are guilty of forsaking God, the Fountain of Living Waters.  At that time, the accusers were so anxious to stone this woman to death.  The same Finger that wrote the Ten Commandments in stone also wrote the names of each of the accusers in the dust in front of their eyes, pointing to their hypocrisy.  The ones to leave this place first were the priests!  The Presence of God will either make hypocrisy leave us or we will leave His Presence, the choice is ours!  So let’s put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander from our lives and fervently love one another.  Let’s not be those who spout God’s Word from our mouth but our lives don’t proclaim it.  Let’s drink from the Fountain of Living Waters and be satisfied with the Presence of God in our life.  Amen!

The Spirit of Sonship in Christ

 “Where the word of a king is, there is power: and who may say unto him, What doest thou? Whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel no evil thing: and a wise man's heart discerneth both time and judgment.”

‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭8‬:‭4‬-‭5‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Solomon’s wisdom says, “the king can do whatever he wants; his command is backed by great power. No one can resist or question it. Those who obey him will not be punished. Those who are wise will find a time and a way to do what is right”.  The prophet said, “But the Lord is the only true God. He is the living God and the everlasting King! The whole earth trembles at His anger. The nations cannot stand up to His wrath.”  This God put His anger and wrath on His Son Jesus on the Cross when Jesus freed us from bondage to sin.  Through faith in Jesus’s death and resurrection, we have received the Spirit of Sonship.  As the King’s sons we are led by His Holy Spirit to obey Him and His power is in us.  So that we would know that we are His true children, God released the Spirit of Sonship into our hearts—moving us to cry out intimately, “My Father! My true Father!” Now we’re no longer living like slaves under the law, but we enjoy being God’s very own sons and daughters! And because we’re His, we can access everything our Father has—for we are heirs because of what God has done!  In the new covenant God has made with us, we are made heirs, kings and princes in God’s Kingdom.  The wise by faith move in this knowledge to win souls into God’s Kingdom and make disciples with the power and authority God has given us.  This is in preparation for the coming of our Lord Jesus when He comes in glory as our Heavenly Father commands Him. For His is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen!

Mercy Has Dominion Over Judgment

 “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.”

‭‭John‬ ‭7‬:‭24‬ ‭KJV‬‬

John the beloved disciple recorded, “Stop judging based on the superficial. First you must embrace the standards of mercy and truth.”  Jesus clearly asks us to not cloud righteous judgment with our own biased opinions and traditions.  Let’s not judge because hypocrites wear masks!  Jesus had just healed the lame man on the Sabbath which the Pharisees took umbrage at.  They were really no one to judge Jesus because they themselves never practiced what they preached.  Here Jesus teaches that the law of mercy (healing the lame man), overrides the law of Moses (regulations of the Sabbath).  Seeing situations and people with the lens of mercy gives us true discernment.  It is good to remember that judgment is merciless for the one who judges others without mercy. So by showing mercy, you take dominion over judgment!  The Lord Jesus showed us mercy when He took the sins of mankind upon the Cross when He was judged by God Almighty and it was there that mercy triumphed over judgment.  Now through faith in the finished work of Jesus at the Cross, we receive mercy. And have dominion over judgment.  Thank You Jesus!

Christ the Wisdom and the Power of God to Us

 “I applied mine heart to know, and to search, and to seek out wisdom, and the reason of things, and to know the wickedness of folly, even of foolishness and madness: Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.”

‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭7‬:‭25‬, ‭29‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Solomon’s wisdom says, “I searched everywhere, determined to find wisdom and to understand the reason for things. I was determined to prove to myself that wickedness is stupid and that foolishness is madness. But I did find this: God created people to be virtuous, but they have each turned to follow their own downward path.”  We thank God today that through Jesus Christ we have received the Holy Spirit Who brings us the wisdom of God.  Today, we live in times where man has discovered how to replicate natural human processes with the artificial intelligence of machines.  This is the idea of humans to create a super intelligent AI that does what humans are meant to do by using their bodies and minds.  In the end human beings are made obsolete.  What a rebellious folly and madness to believe that! Nevertheless, the wisdom of God will be proven true by the expressions of godliness in everyone who follows Christ Who is made to us the wisdom of God.  The Church has the manifold wisdom of God which to unbelievers is a mystery, but to us believers it is the power of God.  Our part is to walk in the wisdom of God as we live before the unbelievers, and make it our duty to make Christ known.  Let the glorious Gospel be preached by the Church for it is the power of God to salvation.  Amen!

The Living Bread gives Abundant Life

 “And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would.”

‭‭John‬ ‭6‬:‭11‬ ‭KJV‬‬

John the beloved disciple recorded, “Jesus then took the barley loaves and the fish and gave thanks to God. He then gave it to the disciples to distribute to the people. Miraculously, the food multiplied, with everyone eating as much as they wanted!”  Barley is the first crop to harvest in Israel as God told Moses, ““Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. When you enter the land I am giving you and you harvest its first crops, bring the priest a bundle of grain from the first cutting of your grain harvest.”  It is a picture of the resurrected Christ.  A barley loaf becomes a picture of Christ given to us in resurrection life.  He is the firstfruit of resurrection life.  When tempted by the devil, Jesus refused to turn stones into bread to satisfy His own hunger.  Yet here Jesus multiplied bread to satisfy the hunger of others.  Philip was hoping to give each one a little to eat, but Jesus’s supply is always abundant to satisfy the hunger of all.  Jesus is the Living Bread that came down from heaven and when we eat Him, we live forever.  Amen!

The Exceeding Great Riches of Our Lord Jesus Christ

 “a man to whom God hath given riches, wealth, and honour, so that he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth, yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof, but a stranger eateth it: this is vanity, and it is an evil disease.”

‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭6‬:‭2‬ ‭KJV

Solomon’s wisdom says, “God gives some people great wealth and honor and everything they could ever want, but then He doesn’t give them the chance to enjoy these things. They die, and someone else, even a stranger, ends up enjoying their wealth! This is meaningless—a sickening tragedy.”  This was Solomon’s tragedy, and all those who put their trust in the riches and systems of this world.  The prophets of the old covenant kept reminding the children of Israel to be separate from the idols of this world particularly the love of money and coveting it.  They prophesied of the Messiah Who would come to save.  “Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors.”  In the new covenant, we have experienced the extravagant grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that although He was infinitely rich, He impoverished Himself for our sake, so that by His poverty, we become rich beyond measure.  Let’s put our trust in the exceedingly great riches of our Lord Jesus Christ rather than the riches of this world.  Amen!

Belief in Christ’s Resurrection Gave Us Our New Identity

 “Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.”

‭‭John‬ ‭5‬:‭28‬-‭29‬ ‭KJV‬‬

John the beloved disciple writes what Jesus spoke, ““Don’t be amazed when I tell you these things, for there is a day coming when everyone who has ever died will hear My voice calling them back to life, and they will come out of their graves! Those who have done what is good will experience a resurrection to eternal life. And those who have practiced evil will taste the resurrection of judgment!”  When we know our identity in Christ, we are used to hearing God’s voice for we are His sheep.  The day is coming when all shall hear His voice and will turn to the LORD and worship Him.  All those who didn’t follow Him will be judged whereas all those who heard His voice and followed Him were judged when judgment fell on Jesus at the Cross and will reign with Him forever.  This is so because our old identity has been co-crucified with Christ and no longer lives. And now the essence of this new life is no longer ours, for the Anointed One lives His life through us - we live in union as one! Our new life is empowered by the faith of the Son of God who loves us so much that He gave Himself for us, dispensing His life into ours!  Hallelujah!